Casting Notes: Guy Pearce And Evan Rachel Wood Work With Todd Haynes; Jamie Foxx And Ashton Kutcher Are Buddies; Hugh Laurie Romances Leighton Meester
I’m excited about the upcoming version ofMildred Pierceto be directed byTodd Haynes.Already set to starKate Winsletin the title role, the HBO mini-series has just added a couple more good names:Guy PearceandEvan Rachel Wood. Sure, Wood’s career has been spotty, but there’s something that suggests she can do a lot more than what we’ve seen her manage recently. I really liked her in Woody Allen’sWhatever Works, for example.
The obvious guess is that Pearce will play the husband from whom Mildred Pierce splits and that Wood will play their daughter. But that’s unconfirmed for now. [Production Weekly]
After the break, it’s buddy comedy time again, and the Hugh Laurie/Catherine Keener indie gets another cast member.
Today might not be the best day to announce a new buddy comedy, asCop Outis opening to justifiably dismal reviews. But screw it,Jamie FoxxandAshton Kutcherare going to make one anyway.Streets on Fire, a script byJustin Britt-Gibson, is about “a straight arrow Chicago cop with anger issues (Foxx) who teams up with a brash and cocky one (Kutcher), and the two “become anything other than friends.” They stumble into a gang of killers intercepting the city’s drugs, and reluctantly agree to work together on the case, only to find out that the vicious gang is actually [redacted to prevent spoilers].”
I think we missed reporting onThe Orangeswhen it was first announced. That’sHugh Laurie’s jump back to the big screen after really making his name onHouse. He’ll play a guy who begins a romantic relationship with the daughter of a woman (Catherine Keener) his own age.Leighton MeesterofGossip Girlhas been cast as the younger love interest. Julian Farino directs from a script by Jay Reiss and Ian Helfer. [Variety]
